


Lead Me Through the Night

by Schwilliam



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: Climbing Class, Jessica has to save the day, Multi, Role Reversal
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-14
Updated: 2016-12-17
Packaged: 2018-05-20 06:53:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5995747
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Schwilliam/pseuds/Schwilliam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eight friends return to Blackwood Mountain for what's supposed to be a friendly get together after the tragedy last year. But when psychopaths and monsters are lurking, they'll have to work together to survive. Not all of them will be so lucky though.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Life is Good

**Author's Note:**

> So for a while now I've been wanting to find an UD AU where Jessica has to run around with a shotgun while her fuckboy bf is unconscious in the mines for five hours. And I haven't really found one, so I'm doing my own. This isn't necessarily one character switched with another, the roles will be changed around as I needed them. So yeah. Hopefully you all enjoy.   
> EDIT: 2/23/16 - Fixed formatting to make more legible.

Ashley hated the cold. She really did. She liked the sunny warm days of her California home. So being out on some godforsaken mountain in Canada, for some weird ass reunion, wasn’t on the top of her list. 

One year ago, she and her friends had played a prank on Josh’s sister Hannah. She had totally overblown the situation and run out of the lodge that Josh’s family, the Washingtons, owned. Beth went after her, and they went missing. He’d obviously taken it hard, retreating in on himself. Or so she heard. Josh was only really talking to Sam and Chris, who didn’t have anything to do with the prank. They said he’d been talking with his therapist and family and now one year later, he seemed to be in high enough spirits to have a get together. 

Stepping off the bus, the frigid air was already starting to sink in, making Ashley even more grumpy. She trudged up the trail to the front gate spying a note that someone had pinned on it. It was a short message from Chris saying how the gate was busted, and even though she knew she’d have to climb over, a small smile spread on Ashley’s face. Well at least someone won’t be awful to be around. Her mood improved even as she had to shakily climb over the icy wall, however when she fell on her ass on the other side, she went back to damning all the cold again.

Ashley kept on tromping through the the snow till she was greeted with the sight of the cable car station. Hallelujah. There didn’t seem to be anyone around which was slightly disconcerting, but she did notice Chris’ backpack on the nearby bench. She could see his phone buzzing in the front pocket, but no Chris to answer. Maybe he had been talking with someone about her? Looking around quickly, Ash reached out and took the phone from it’s holder and grinned. There was a new message from Josh. Maybe the bros are talking about plans for tonight? Before she could open the message though, a sharp creek sounded from the wooden floor and a voice whispered in her ear.

“Hey nosy.”

Ashley screamed and nearly threw Chris’ phone in the air as he chuckled at her freak out.

“Oh my God Chris, what the hell?”  
“Me? What’re you going through my stuff for?”  
“You weren’t here and I was just wondering if it was important.”

Chris frowned slightly and held out his hand.

“Well thanks Ash, but I can check my messages on my own.”

Ashley grinned weakly and placed the device in his hand before shrugging.

“Alright sorry, I should’ve just waited for you.”  
“Yeah probably,” Chris mumbled as he replied to the text. “But hey enough on that. We should probably start heading up.”  
“Sounds good to me.”

Ashley went over to the door and almost knocked into it when it didn’t open.

“Why is this locked…?”  
“Eh Josh said the family didn’t want weirdos coming up here. So thus the locked door.”

Chris slipped out the key and unlocked the door, before holding it open for Ash. The two stepped inside and Chris closed it up behind him as the cable car made its steady descent to the station. 

The pair stood there in a slightly awkward silence, the only sounds being the cold wind and Chris’ tapping on his cellphone. She rocked from side to side slowly before giving an audible “brrrr” to which Chris gave her a raised eyebrow.

“It’s too cold up on this mountain.”  
“Well it IS a mountain. In the winter. That’s why I’ve got all these layers. Why are you in shorts?”  
“Hey I’ve got leggings on too!”  
“Unless they’re fleece lined I don’t think that’ll help much Ash.”  
“W-well I’m sure there’s ways for us to warm up at the cabin.”  
“Yeah I guess you’re right. Josh can probably get the fireplace going. Not sure about the heating though. We’ll see.”

The cable car finally made it’s arrival and the two hopped in and Ashley was finally able to sit down and try to ignore the cold. 

“So I’ve gotta ask, since you’ve been up here so much lately...how is he?”  
“Josh?”   
“Well who else would be up here?”

Chris gave a little laugh and sighed quietly.

“He’s doing better I think. He took it pretty hard, nightmares lead to not sleeping, then he didn’t wanna eat. Sometimes he’d be downstairs waiting by the front door, hoping Hannah or Beth would show up. But I mean we talked to him, Sam and I, and his therapist helped out. He’s not on as many meds. So I think we helped him heal a lot.”

Ashley smiled back at Chris but her own thoughts weren’t quite the same. She couldn’t believe what had happened still. Josh’s sisters were probably dead, and she almost blamed herself. She still couldn’t get how Hannah had taken it so hard. It was just a guy who didn’t like her. Hannah was stupid for running off and causing everyone else so many problems. Josh was a good guy, he didn’t deserve to be suffering like that. 

“Well he’s lucky to have friends like you.”  
“He’s my bro, it’s what we do.”

Ashley snorted and looked out the window as the car climbed higher.

***

When the cable car arrived Jessica was clutching onto a small envelope. This wasn’t much like her. She was the pretty girl, the girl who could get what she wanted from anyone with a wink or a low cut shirt. What on earth was she thinking writing a love letter? She was eighteen years old. Not some little kid writing in her diary about cute boys. As she looked at the front of the letter though, she knew. In curly red letters “Mike” was written, and it even had a heart over the I. She wanted to show him that she was more than just a pretty face. She could be smart if she wanted to, right? Right. She could write out her feelings and talk about herself. Jessica wasn’t going to be afraid of what would happen. So...why hadn’t she given it to him yet? 

Jessica was dragged out of her thoughts by the clunk of the car settling in. Hopping up from the bench she walked over to the station door, and tried to peer in through the dim window. Who had shown up? A loud thump and a pair of faces showed up in the window and Jessica lept back a foot. 

“Hey Jess, can you let us out? The door’s locked.”

Jessica had to steady her breath as Ashley gave her a wide smile.

“Oh, well maybe you shouldn’t scare the shit out of me before you ask me for help.”

Jessica grumbled and pressed the button to unlock the door, and the pair stepped out onto the snow covered ground with her. 

“Jessica, it’s nice to see you again!” 

Ashley pulled her into a hug, grinning happily at the sight of her. Jessica’s eyes widened and she returned the hug awkwardly.

“Nice to see you too Ash.”

Before she knew it though, Chris had snatched the letter from Jessica’s hand and looked at the front of it.

“Well well what have we here?”

Jessica pushed away from Ashley and went to snatch at the letter. 

“Give that back you prick!”  
“Yikes, so fiesty. If Ash can look at people’s stuff I think I can. And hey I’m not even opening this..letter to Mike?”

Jessica shook her head, not sure why he had mentioned that, and only got a sheepish grin from Ash.

“Okay look, whatever. Yes, it’s a letter for Mike. He and Emily broke up and now we’re dating.”  
“So letter?”  
“I don’t think that’s your business.”

Chris smirked and handed it back to Jessica, who grabbed it back from him with irritation. 

“Well I don’t think I wanna read about what you two would do in the throes of passion, so I think I’m gonna head up.”

Chris turned his back to the girls and started towards the path to the lodge. Ashley turned to Jessica with some concern.

“You coming up?”  
“Oh, yeah, I’m just waiting on Mike. We’ll be up together.”  
“Alright, just don’t freeze down here. Try and keep warm.”

Jessica gave Ashley a sly grin and winked.

“Oh don’t worry, I think I’ll get pretty warm tonight.”

***

Fuck the snow seriously. It made everything cold, and damp, and Emily definitely couldn’t show off her cute new top when she was layered under a jacket and sweater. At least she still looked fashionable. But still. Fuck the snow. 

She turned to look back at Matt who was slowly trudging up the trail behind her with her bags. 

“Well thanks for keeping up you handsome packmule.”

Matt forced a smile and caught up with her. 

“Sorry Em, it’s been a long walk.”  
“Well we don’t have much further at least. Once we’re past the bridge we’ll be like right there.”  
“And then we can put these down?”  
“Well you’ll have to carry them to the room then so just wait till we get there.”

Matt sighed and pumped his legs to get ready to go again as the couple crossed the bridge. The old wooden covered structure creaked and groaned from the wind and their footsteps, and it had a very eerie quality to the whole thing.

“Kinda spooky huh?”  
“I’ve been through worse Ma-  
“GRAAAAAHHHHHHHHH”

Mike lept down from the top of the covering and roared at the pair. Emily shrieked and immediately ran behind Matt for cover. Matt simply dropped the bags and shielded his face. As Mike burst out into a laugh, the pair realized what had happened and became instantly enraged.

“Oh my God Michael, what the fuck? Why would you do that?”  
“Ahh come on Em, I’m just havin a little fun. No harm, no foul.”

Matt straightened out his shoulders and looked between his very pissed off girlfriend and her annoying ex. Deciding now was the time to do something, Matt glared at the still guffawing man.

“Mike, that was really dickish of you. We’re here to have a good time, not scare the shit out of each other. So why don’t you just lay off?”

Mike’s expression soured at this, and Emily slipped out from behind Matt.

“Well sheesh, here I thought we were all gonna have some fun. Guess Em got to you more than I thought.”  
“Excuse me? What’s that supposed to mean Michael?”  
“You know what it means Em.”

Mike rolled his eyes and gave the two a smirk before heading back across the bridge past them. Emily’s glare followed after him, but she shook her head and turned back to Matt with a smile. 

“Hey, that was nice of you to do.”

Matt’s face softened and he looked at Emily in confusion.

“Do what?”  
“Stand up to him, for me. It was cute, ya big dummy.”

They shared a look, but Emily broke it to look back down where Mike had gone.

“Um hey...babe? I gotta go talk to...Sam. It’s like super important.”  
“You sure she’s not at the lodge?”  
“I don’t think so. Maybe I’ll meet her when she gets here. Can you bring the stuff up and I’ll meet you there?”

Matt frowned and sighed deeply but smiled back at her.

“Whatever you say.”

Emily leaned in and kissed him on the cheek before heading back down the way.

“I’ll see you up there later baby.”

And with that the two parted ways.

***

Sam took in a deep breath of cold air and smiled. She loved the mountain this time of year. Not this day in particular obviously, today was a bad day. But it didn’t mean she couldn’t enjoy the nature around her. The soft fall of snow, occasional bird calls or the screech of the elk. Sam stood at the lookout point and just took it all in. But out the corner of her eye, there was some movement. Was someone down on the path below? Moving over to look through the viewfinder standing at the point. 

“What have we here?”

Through the scope she could see Mike and Emily having some sort of conversation. It didn’t look heated, but wasn’t calm either. Like there was a slight tension between them. Strange…  
The crunch of snow sounded near her and Sam looked up and around her to spot Matt creeping up beside her.

“Ah damnit,” he groaned. “I was this close to spooking you.”

Sam smirked and folded her arms.

“Come on Matt, gotta get up early to jump this gal. What’re you doing up here?”  
“Ah just looking around for the gang. Em went to go look for you.”

Sam glanced at the viewfinder and pursed her lips. 

“Huh...that’s kinda weird. I just saw her talking to Mike.”

Matt’s eyes narrowed and he walked closer to her, a darkened expression on his face.

“What the hell?”  
“Look for yourself.” Sam gestured to the viewfinder with a frown.

Matt looked through it almost reluctantly to see Emily pulled into an awkward hug by her ex.

“Oh for fucks-really? Goddamnit Mike.”

Matt backed away from the scope with anger and was waving his arms around like he was looking for something to punch.

“Hey hey hey, Matt, look Mike’s probably just trying to talk to her.”  
“Bullshit Sam, you know Mike only cares about himself and getting his dick in any girl he can.”  
“Like Hannah?”

Matt looked at Sam, wide eyed, and shook his head. 

“I-sorry.”  
“It’s fine. Look let’s just...head back to the group.”  
“Yeah...yeah that’s fine.”

Sam gave Matt a soft smile and put a hand on his shoulder as the pair went down the trail, while Matt was stewing in his own emotions.

***

The cold wind was starting to get on Jessica’s nerves. Where was Mike anyway? She’d seen Chris and Ash who hadn’t seen Mike, which meant he was still on his way. Maybe. Deciding to take things into her hand, Jessica took out her phone and started to text him. 

“where ru?”

She pressed send and huffed softly. She heard a chime and her eyes narrowed. Was that-  
A snowball collided with the wall next to Jessica’s head and she shrieked. Looking to the source, Mike stood there cackling and packing up another snowball. 

“Michael Munroe, what was that for?”  
“This is a hold up, little lady. I’m gonna have to ask you to give me all the goods ya got.” Mike said in a ridiculous Old West accent.

Jessica stood up slowly and smirked. So that’s how he was gonna play it? Standing from the bench and packaging some snow from on top of the wooden fence around the station, she smiled innocently, batting her eyelashes.

“Well I do declare sir, this Southern belle may be at your mercy.”  
“You’d be right in that Missy, so how about we get down to business.”

Jessica could see the mischievous twinkle in his eyes, and she had it too. 

“Very well sir...let’s!” And with that Jessica pegged the snowball at Mike’s face.  
“Whoa what!?”

The snowball smacked him in the cheek, the powdered substance going everywhere as he shook it off. Jessica made a run for the bench in the clearing around the station and started making more ammunition to use. 

“Alright Jess, you got lucky, but I’m gonna getcha...when I find you.”

Mike scanned the area for movement, but suddenly another snowball hit him in the chest and he backed up in surprise.

“Jesus Jess where are you?” 

Jessica had moved around behind a tree and called out.

“Oh come on Michael, I thought you were man enough to take me on!”

He turned towards the sound of her voice and started towards it, grinning cockily.

“I’ve got ya now Jess.”

He was met with another snowball to the face and he dived to the ground too late in an attempt to avoid it. 

“Holy shit, how are you doing this?”

Jessica ran towards Michael who was stunned on the ground still and as he was shaking his head of the snow angels around him, Jessica made her move and stood over him before lowering down to straddle the older man and pin his arms down with a triumphant shout.

“Michael come onnnn. You know I was on the softball team for like ever. It’s how i kept this body looking as gorgeous as it does.”

Jessica giggled and moved her thighs down so that she could lean down and lay on top of Mike’s chest and rest her forehead against his. Michael smiled back at her and their noses touched as well.

“You got me good then now didn’t you. Guess you get to take advantage of all my goods and services.”

Jessica rolled her eyes.

“Okay I think we can stop with the western references.”  
“You sure? You’d look pretty hot in cowgirl.”  
“I think you mean as a cow-Oh Michael~ How naughty of you.”  
“You’ve brought this stealer of hearts to justice. What’s the punishment?”

Jessica sat up and looked up in thought before leaning back down and pressing her lips to his softly, her hands moving up to rest on his shoulders. Michael kissed her back lightly before responding eagerly, as his hands slid around the small of her back.

The two parted after a few seconds and Jessica unhooked his hands from around him so she could stand. 

“Well that was nice enough for a round two.”  
“Round two but no second base? Lame.”  
“Oh we can run as many bases as soon as we get some free time in the lodge.”

She stood and held out her hand for him to take. Mike laughed lightly and took it standing up easily enough. The pair headed back to the cabin, arms around each other’s waists. Neither of the lovers noticed the cablecar steadily making its way up to the station.

End Chapter 1


	2. White

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hella wowsers this took way too long to upload. Apologies. The intro chapters to this game are soooooo slow, but with more excitement upcoming, it should be easier to churn out.

The lodge still looked as calm as it had all the previous years Chris had seen it. Probably the only time he hadn’t enjoyed being here was when the police were questioning them. He only remembered the glassy eyed look on Josh’s face. The man frozen in mix of depression and rage, rage at himself and the “friends” who had led to his sisters disappearance. There were the anguished cries, the silence and dismissive behaviors. It took two weeks before he even let Chris and Sam talk to him, and two months before he left the house. 

Those were months that Chris couldn’t forget. Times when he would have to stay in the bed with Josh who’d wake up in terror, visions of his sisters being lost. Only the warm comfort of a body near him, with the soft coos and shushing from Chris, while his fingers carded through Josh’s hair, could bring the boy to sleep.

Looking at him now, Chris could almost forget about all of that. Josh was bright smiles and laughter as he talked to Sam and Ashley. There was a slight glimmer of happiness that went missing and never came back after Hannah and Beth were gone. Maybe it would never come back. But what mattered to Chris was that Josh was here, alive and well. 

Josh turned from his conversation with the girls and lit up even more and he ran up to wrap Chris in a bear hug. The pair laughed while Sam rolled her eyes with a smirk, Ashley giggling beside her. 

“Cochise! You made it.”  
“Well duh, would I ever miss anything you set up for us.”  
“I dunno, there was that one party when Hannah got her new car.”  
“I was sick at home with a stomach virus bro.”  
“Excuses. Anyway, I need your help with the door.”

Josh let go of Chris and the two of them went to look at the lock which had been frozen shut.

“How the hell did that happen?”  
“I have no idea man. But I can’t get this thing going. We might have to find another way in.” 

As Josh continued fiddling with the lock, Chris looked back to his friends who’d started gathering. Ash and Matt seemed to be in a conversation, which Matt wasn’t enjoying. Or maybe he was just mad about something else. 

“I’m gonna catch up. Lemme know if you come up with something.”  
“Will do bro.” 

Giving Josh a reassuring grip on his shoulder, Chris headed to the younger pair of friends. 

“Yo, how’re you guys doing? Finally ready to be done with classes?”

Ashley rolled her eyes while Matt merely snorted.

“Matt was just saying how he’s working on a football scholarship.”  
“Oh awesome man. Between that and Em’s grades, neither of you are probably gonna have to pay for anything.”

Matt’s expression darkened and Chris raised an eyebrow.”

“Everything alright?”  
“Yeah...fucking great.”

Ashley reached out to rub Matt’s upper arm affectionately. He looked back to her still grumbling slightly, and Chris decided to take the opportunity to slip away and talk to Sam. At least she’d be amicable. Right?

Sam was enjoying the sights it seemed, a bright smile on her face, which stayed when Chris tapped her on the shoulder. 

“Hey there buddy, here for the view?”  
“Eh I guess, wanted to see how you were doing.”  
“Me? Psh I’m great. The gang’s back together, Josh is happy, and we can all cozy up by the fire for some fun times as friends.”  
“You sound excited.”  
“No reason not to be. So, you talked to Josh yet?”

Chris scoffed and smiled at Sam.

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”  
“Oh nothing. Just making sure you two are still broing it up. Speaking of, maybe you should see if your bro needs help getting in.”  
“Well he’s working on it. Only been a few minutes.”  
“Oooookay. I’m gonna go see if I can find Mike Jess or Em, so you go talk to Josh.”

Sam headed back to the gate path, giving Chris a little wink as she left. Chris was left with slight confusion and shook his head heading back to Josh. Going back up the lodge steps, Chris gave Josh a soft jab in the side. Josh jumped and swatted away at Chris’ hand and then stood up straight from the locked door.

“Alright, well this isn’t working. I guess we gotta get in some other way.”  
“And what would that be?”  
“Well let’s see if we can find an open window or some shit.”

The boys went down the stairs, passing Ash and Matt who both seemed a little cheerier, Ash giving Chris a wave as they went by. They went down a path going along the side of the house, and when they were out of sight, Josh looking back to make sure, he gave a slight tug on Chris’ sleeve.

“So, we’re all alone up here on this mountain. No family, couple of drinks. You lookin at Ash tonight?”

Chris reddened at this thought and gave an awkward cough.

“N-nah. No gosh. Uh I don’t think I’d wanna do that. Not tonight.”  
“Bro I’m trying to hook you up with a girl who clearly wants to bang you. She’s pretty hot when she tries. I don’t even have to play you up as a wingman. A great guy like you, everything I’d say would be true.”  
“I swear to God if you ever try to sell me off with tales of an epic dick…”  
“Psh, no way bro. You’d be too good for her if I was talking about your dick.”  
“Well if that’s the case why not get me with someone of my ‘standard’?”  
“Leave that to me, Cochise.”

The two of them were able to find an open window, which Josh helped Chris up on his shoulders in order to shove him through it. Formulating a plan for Chris to wander through the dark house and find some spray deodorant and Josh’s lighter to unfreeze the lock, Chris set off on his adventure while Josh went back to the front door. He hoped that Chris wouldn’t get too lost in the lodge, and Josh leaned on the door waiting for Chris to hurry up. He was getting colder than he liked, even with the layers he had on. 

The cold usually had just been a part of life up here, something that would wake him, a fresh cool morning. Now he could only stand it for so long before winter’s bite set in and he was shivering. Maybe it was from running out in the cold one night, somehow convinced if he went through what the twins had, then maybe...No. He wasn’t thinking anything. He couldn’t justify it. He’d wanted to run off and get lost and die. There wasn’t any logic in it. And at the time he didn’t care. If it had been snowing then his tracks would’ve been lost, but Chris and Sam found him. That was the final clue that Josh needed more help than his two best friends. 

Looking through his phone he felt a little better seeing that his therapist was still checking in on him. Dr. Hill seemed glad that Josh was reaching back out to his friends, albeit with a slight warning to not let himself get overwhelmed. 

A sudden slam at the door and a wailing, dragged Josh out of his thoughts and he looked up as Ashley yelped in surprise. 

“Bro really?”

Josh looked through the window in the front door and laughed as Chris stepped into view. 

“Aw come on, I spooked you.”  
“I mean, you spooked Ash so that’s gotta count for something. How’s the door coming?”  
“Working on it.”

Josh smiled and went back to his phone, looking up to see Sam coming up the front path with Mike and Jessica. Josh soured a little at this, but he remembered why they were all here. _They did a stupid thing, they couldn’t have known what would happen. It was a tragic event. It’s not your fault._ Dr. Hill’s words ran through Josh’s head and he took in a deep breath. Good times with friends. 

The front door swung open and a rather proud looking Chris stood in the doorway grinning.

“Who’s the man?’  
“You the man.” Josh said rolling his eyes. 

***

The darkened lodge always seemed eerie to Matt. Something about the place being so distant from anything he knew about. He was an all American guy who liked hot girls, football, and sunny days. Here, where the only girls besides Em were either his friends, the people played hockey, and there was snow and cold everywhere. He couldn’t feel less at home. 

Despite his feelings, everyone seemed to be settling otherwise. Chris and Josh were looking over the fireplace while Ash and Sam had taken a place on the couch and were lost in conversation. At least it was quiet.

“WHAT’S UP BLACKWOOD GROUPIES?!”  
“WOOO PARTAY!”

As Mike and Jessica walked in, all smiles and noise, Matt immediately felt his mood sour again. How could Mike even act like this? Like this was a party? All he was here for was to sleep with as many girls as he could. Jessica deserved better, Em deserved better, anyone could do better than Mike. Matt was sick of the pedestal they seemed to put him on. 

Jessica had crossed over to chat with Sam and Ash, and Mike was looking like a wolf eyeing up his next meal. Matt had enough. He walked up to Mike, who turned his gaze to Matt and raised an eyebrow.

“Hey there buddy, feeling any better?”  
“Stay away from Emily.”  
“Excuse me?”  
“I’m warning you man, if you try anything with her you’re gonna really regret it.”  
“Dude seriously, I don’t give a shit about doing anything with Em so why don’t you just back off. She’s not worth it.”  
“Fuck you!”

In a sudden movement, Matt lashed out and grabbed Mike, pulling him into a headlock. Mike shouted and gripped onto Matt’s arm trying to pull him loose. The others in the room stood and stared in shock for a moment until Josh rushed over and grabbed the pair. Matt seemed to snap out of his rage and was easily pulled off of Mike who was coughing and glaring at him. 

“Are you fucking serious guys? We’re here to spend time as friends, not kill each other. Why don’t you both just split and chill until you can control yourselves? Jesus…” 

Josh looked almost enraged before he took in a deep breath and a relative calm came over him. 

“Mike, I’ve got the key for the guest cabin, why don’t you and Jess go chill there?”  
“Sure...sounds good. Better than here.”

Mike gave one last glare before heading back to Jessica who looked amongst her friends in concern. She gave a weak smile and shrug before putting an arm around Mike’s waist and heading to the door out with Josh following behind. The remainder stared at Matt who was staring at his feet. They turned to look at the corridor where footsteps grew until Emily was standing in the doorframe staring at them.

“Wow, did you all miss me that much or did someone die while I was gone?”  
“Something like that…” Chris muttered to himself.

Emily shrugged and started looking over her things. A scowl came over her face and she had to keep from kicking the wall, because no way would she ruin her boots. 

“Matt where’s my little bag?”  
“Your what?”  
“The cute little Chanel one that would be on top of the stack, but clearly it isn’t?  
“I...I don’t know.”

Emily groaned and looked at him with dismay.

“Well you probably left it outside. Hopefully at the door, but if it’s all the way back at the cable car station, you’d better pray it’s not snowed on.”  
“Do we really have to get it now?”

Emily deadpanned and walked close to Matt, folding her arms. 

“Were you questioning what I wanted?”  
“Sorry I just-”  
“No excuses. Let’s just go before I make you sleep in a separate bed tonight.” 

Matt looked back up at this comment, his cheeks slightly flushed. Emily smirked and headed out the way she came to the front door, with Matt following in her trail.

***

Jessica thought she’d be used to the cold by now, but going from being in the heat of the lodge and back outside again almost made it worse. Josh had already handed them the keys so the pair set off down the trail until Jessica decided they needed to talk about what happened. 

“Hey Mike?”  
“Yeah, babe?”  
“So what went down in there?”

Michael paused for a moment before he rolled his eyes. 

“Matt got it in his empty head that I was trying to hook up with Em. So he went off on me.”  
“Did you give him a reason to?”  
“Babe are you siding with him?”

Jessica folded her arms and frowned.

“Mike, he’s our friend. He wouldn’t try to hurt you for no reason so maybe you said or did something that he misunderstood. I trust you, but Matt’s not your boyfriend so-”  
“Ew.”  
“So he’s not going to feel the same. But whatever, let’s just get to this cabin.”  
“Well thanks for the vote of confidence.”  
“I’m confident in your...abilities.”

Jessica giggled, running a finger along Mike’s left bicep as she skipped on a few steps ahead. 

The generator shed ahead of them was already lit and running. Jessica assumed that Josh and whoever his family had working up here must have set it up for them. _Thank God we’re not in charge of that._

The trail continued winding and the couple made small talk about the last visit, but that soon died as they came upon a massive tree blocking the path. 

“What?! Josh’s family can get this place set up but can’t move a damn tree?”  
“Babe complaining about it won’t move it, we can just go around.”  
“Oh yeah, off the cliffside. Great plan Michael.”

Mike looked around and saw an abandoned mine shaft that seemed to cut straight through to where they would want to go. At least it looked like it would. Hopefully.

“This way then. We’ll figure it out.”  
“Michael this seems like the worst decision you’ve ever made.”

Mike stepped into the entrance laughing off her complaint before part of the ledge leading in collapsed under him and sent him tumbling into the mine shaft.

“Owwwww…”  
“Oh my gosh Michael are you okay?!”

Jessica ran up to the entrance looking down at him. The tunnel was dark, but with enough moonlight to give some vision.  
“Uhhh yeah. I’m all in one piece.”  
“Jesus...should-should I go get Josh or something? I can’t pull you up from here.”

Mike sighed and shook his head, taking in his surroundings.

“Babe this really does look like it’ll just lead straight out if we just go.”  
“Well who knows what’s down there?”  
“What you think there’s a monster or something? You chicken?”  
“Michael I swear…”  
“Bawk. Bawk bawk bawk.”

Jessica stomped her foot and hopped down from the ledge and walked right up into Mike’s face. 

“See. How hard was that?”  
“You’re a dick.”  
“It’s a nice dick.”  
“It better be.”

As the two went through, Jessica couldn’t deny the cave was ominous. She swore there was scrabbling noises deeper in that weren’t that of a furry animal. Faint whispering even seemed to float through the air, but the words were unclear. By the time they reached the outside, Jessica had almost sprinted out the cave and shivered, not from the cold but the idea she felt like something was living in there. Something unnatural. Mike didn’t seem to be too fazed, and Jessica decided his machismo was either a front and he was trying to impress her, or it was real and he wasn’t actually afraid of whatever was living in there. 

“Michael?”  
“Hm?”  
“Thanks for leading us outta there.”  
“Hey no big deal babe. Just a cave. No spooky monsters, and they’d have to go through me anyway.”

Mike flexed, giving Jessica a grin. She couldn’t help but laugh at the show and slide an arm around his waist.

“My hero.”

The pair moved along in a more comfortable silence, with only the occasional cawing of a crow and the wind whipping through the trees. The trail continued further until yet another fallen tree laid across the path. Mike scoffed and shook his head. 

“Wow you were right. The Washingtons really don’t care about moving these trees.”

Jessica laughed and moved out of his grip to examine the tree. This one wasn’t on the cliffside at least and the branches seemed well placed enough to climb over it. Jessica started clambering up over the tree and stood up looking over the path ahead. 

“You coming up here or what?”  
“I don’t know, begining to think this trek is getting too snowy.”

Mike kicked at the snow around his feet to further his point. Jessica groaned and bent over scooping up some snow off the the tree trunk and tossing it right into Mike’s face. 

“Agh, Jess what the fuck?”

Mike jumped back, sputtering and looking for Jessica. Taking advantage of his lack of sight, Jessica hopped down on the trail and started running ahead, giggling to herself. 

_Oh this’ll be perfect._

Jessica heard Mike calling for her from the other side of the tree still. Taking in a deep breath, she let out the loudest scream she could.

***

Ashley sighed heavily as the hot water in the tub continued to...not be hot. 

“Joooosh, come on!”

Grumbling and stomping out of the bathroom Ashley headed out to the second floor walkway and looked down to the living room where Chris, Sam, and Josh were huddled around the unlit fireplace. 

“Twenty bucks says he won’t get it.”  
“I’m sure Josh really needs that confidence boost, Sam.”  
“I didn’t hear you say no to that bet.”  
“He’s gonna get it, right bro?”  
“Guys, can you both shut up and let me concentrate?”

Ashley wandered down the stairs to meet the group, Chris and Sam toning down their teasing to a whisper.

“Hey Josh, the hot water isn’t happening. What’s up with that?”

The three turned to face Ashley, Josh standing up with a grunt.

“Shit, I totally forgot about that, my bad.”  
“It’s fine, can you just go get that set up?”  
“Uh yeah, sure, I’ll need some help though so you can come with.”

Josh crossed over to Ashley before turning back to Sam and Chris.

“Hey, why don’t you two go find something for us all to do?”  
“What, like spin the bottle?”

Sam snickered and took Chris by the arm.

“Let’s go lover boy, I know just the thing for us to use tonight.”

Chris and Josh shared a shrug as the blondes went off together. Josh shook his head, smiling, as he lead Ashley down the stairs to the basement floor. Josh stopped outside the door heading down to the actual basement and looked at Ashley with concern.

“So hey, I bet you probably think it’s pretty weird coming back...after last time.”  
“I mean...honestly yeah. I love hanging with you guys, but this place just feels kinda weird.”  
“Trust me, I know what you mean. My therapist says I should work on moving past the bad stuff, so Sam sorta helped me come up with the idea of this. Replace the bad with good, right?”  
“That...makes sense. Just, forgot how cold and creepy this place can be.”  
“Yeah well next time we have a tragic event, I’ll be sure it’s at the family beach resort.”

Ashley seemed to wither a little at Josh’s jibe, so the pair wandered to the basement in relative silence. Shivering at the drop in temperature, Ashley sighed in annoyance. 

“Josh, what do we need to do already?”  
“Hold your horses red, I just need you to set up this one thingy while i turn on the other thingy.”  
“Do you actually know what you’re doing?”  
“Yes, just take my word for it.”

The two eventually made their way to the boiler and water pressure “thingy”, and after a few tries of Ashley fumbling with the knobs, they were able to set up the machine properly.

“Boom! High five Ash.”

Ashley heard a distant clink from the hallway past them and turned to look in the direction of the sounds.

“Or not…”

Josh lowered his hand as Ashley wandered off towards the sound. 

“Josh? What is that?”  
“Probably nothing important. Thought you wanted to get to your bath and not explore strange sounds.”  
“Well excuse me for being curious.”

Josh rolled his eyes and muttered something about curiosity and cats before following behind her. The sound of a slight creaking did tip Josh off that something was weird. He thought the door down here was locked.

As if summoned by this thought, the pair were both greeted suddenly by a cloaked masked figure who lept from the shadows in front of them. Ashley let out a screech and immediately did a 180 and shot off in the direction of the stairs, Josh rushing behind her. They both turned back to see the figure lumbering after them. They ascended the stairs, Ashley nearly tripping in the process, before reaching the door and tugging on it only to find it was locked. 

“Josh,what the fuck!? Why did you lock the door?”  
“I didn’t!”

The pair started to slam against the door, trying to force it open in panic. Ashley turned to look back down the stairs and saw the figure only two feet away from her.

“Boo.”

Screaming again, Ashley pressed herself to the door, almost in tears. Josh looked between the two but noticed the figure had bent over and was laughing hysterically.

“Oh my God, Ashley! You should see your face!”

Taking off the mask, the figure revealed themself to be Sam who had tears in her eyes from laughing. Josh looked at her in confusion til he heard the door unlocking and turned to see a grinning Chris. 

“Bro, what the hell?”  
“Hey don’t look at me. It was Sam’s idea.”

Sam had calmed down to a level of snickering while Ashley had slumped down on the floor and was cursing under her breath. 

“Josh, I can’t believe you forgot all those costumes were down there. It was too good to resist.”

Josh shook his head, and slowly, a smile came to his face and he let out a chuckle. 

“Alright, alright, you got me Sammy. Now let’s go get Ashley her bath set up. Hopefully she doesn’t need a change of clothes too.”

Ashley looked up at the trio and sniffled a little bit before standing up and waving them off before stomping off to the main stairway of the house. 

“Aw come on. It was just a prank Ash.”

Sam smirked as Ashley responded by flipping her off. 

“So what did you two find for us to do, besides scaring the shit out of us.”

Chris threw an arm around Josh’s shoulders and pointed to Sam. The girl giggled and whipped out a ouija board from the folds of her cloak.

“Really? Spooks after the fright fest?”  
“What’re you scared of?”

Josh rolled his eyes and took the board from Sam, looking over it as he leaned into Chris. 

“Nothing. Let’s go do this.”

End Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ayyyyyy thanks for the read and all of you have a Happy Holidays. More to come in the future for sure. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or criticisms please feel free to let me know.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm gonna be doing a chapter per chapter of the game. I don't really have a set schedule for doing this, but I've got a full plot outline and am working on it as best I can. Thanks for reading again :D


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